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News18
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
When Govinda Said He 'Played Dirty' With Neelam, Didn't Reveal He Was Married To Sunita
Last Updated: Govinda once admitted he was smitten with co-star Neelam and broke off his engagement with Sunita Ahuja. Despite this, he secretly married Sunita. Govinda and his wife Sunita Ahuja often make headlines due to their public appearances and statements on marriage. However, there was a time when Bollywood wasn't scared of controversies. Celebs would bare their heart out in interviews, not caring whether it'll lead them into trouble. In similar lines, Govinda had once openly spoken about how smitten he was with then co-star Neelam that he broke off his engagement with now-wife Sunita. The former superstar had also revealed that he 'played dirty" with Neelam by not informing her about his marriage. Govinda and Neelam were a hit pair back in the day. However, little did they know that their on-screen chemistry would soon translate into reality. Although he gradually found himself falling in love with Neelam, he remained conscious of his growing dissatisfaction with his engagement to Sunita. Enchanted by Neelam, he even began wishing that Sunita would emulate her, hoping it might give him a reason to stay in the relationship. However, as his comparisons between the two women became more frequent and intense, tensions rose. Eventually, Sunita lost her temper and made a remark about Neelam that prompted Govinda to end their engagement. Few days later, Sunita called Govinda and the two reconciled. They soon had an intimate wedding in a temple and kept the news of their marriage a secret as the Hero No 1 actor thought it would affect his career. He didn't even inform Neelam about his wedding. 'Neither did Neelam know about it. She got to know only after a year. I probably did not tell her because I did not want to break this successful screen pair. And to be honest, to a certain extent, I did exploit my personal relationship with Neelam for professional ends. I played dirty with her. I should have told her that I was married," Govinda told Stardust magazine during a throwback interview. Govinda openly expressed his deep admiration for Neelam and often shared his desire to marry her. He described her as the ideal woman in his life and admitted that he had already begun imagining her as his future wife. Reflecting on this in an old interview, Govinda said, 'Yes, I wanted to marry her. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Neelam was the ideal girl, the kind every man visualises for a life-partner. The kind of girl I wanted. But that was getting emotional. There was another practical side. Just because I had fallen in love elsewhere, I couldn't overlook my commitment towards Sunita. If there was no sense of duty in a man, this would go on. Leave one for another and another for another." Neelam, however, never mentioned that getting married to Govinda was in her radar as her primary focus was always her career. Driven by ambition, she often brushed off Govinda's talk of marriage with a laugh. Her goal was to become Bollywood's top actress. In a past interview, she addressed the rumours linking her to Govinda, firmly stating that there was no relationship between them. She added that such gossip was common in those days, especially since there was no one to clarify the truth. Cut to today: Govinda and Sunita Ahuja have been married for over 37 years. Earlier this year, they made headlines for divorce speculations, however, Sunita clarified that all was well in their relationship. As for Neelam, the actor-jewellery designer married actor Sameer Soni in 2011. They adopted daughter Ahana in 2013. Glimpses of their happy family have been sparsely included in Netflix's Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives. First Published:
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Govinda left the set to receive wife at airport, didn't return for four days; BMCM co-star Shehzad Khan recalls: ‘I've come to Mumbai'
Actor Shehzad Khan, who worked with Govinda on the film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, reflected on the star's habitual tardiness. He said that he has numerous anecdotes about Govinda, as he shared one from the sets of BMCM. He said that they were working in Hyderabad's Ramoji Film City, when Govinda asked director David Dhawan if he could go to the airport and pick up his wife. He left, and didn't return for four days. In an interview with Bollywood Thikana, Shehzad said, 'I have a lot of stories. We were shooting at Ramoji one day, and Chi Chi asked David Dhawan if he could go and receive his wife at the airport. The airport is a little while away from the studio, and David ji gave him permission to go, but told him to return immediately. He left, but didn't return. In the evening, David ji received a call from him saying that he was in Mumbai. He said that he'd return the following day.' He continued, 'You have to hand it to David saab. He knew how to work around these hiccups. The shoot didn't stop at all, even though Govinda wasn't there. He returned four days later.' Tales of Govinda's tardiness are well known across the film industry. Many attribute his fall from grace to his indiscipline. His own wife, Sunita, said that she agrees with David Dhawan's advice to Govinda about doing more supporting roles as he got older. His refusal to evolve with the times has also been cited as a reason for his downfall. In an earlier interview with Ronak Kotecha, BMCM producer Vashu Bhagnani recalled a story about Govinda's tardiness when they worked together on Hero No 1. He said that the entire unit of 75 people sat idle in Switzerland for three days because Govinda had not even arrived in the country, and they had been waiting for him. In an interview with Mashable India, director Anees Bazmee said that he'd be shocked if Govinda ever showed up on time. 'It isn't news or a shock to me that Govinda will come late. I will get a shock if he comes on time, and he doesn't give me those kinds of shocks. So, since I know that he will come at 12 pm for a 9 am shoot, I complete other tasks by then so that I don't waste my time. Tuning with the actor is very important,' he said. In an interview with Bollywood Thikana, Govinda's nephew Vinay Anand told a story about being humiliated by a producer for being late. 'When he was just starting off, one of his producers, I don't want to name him… Govinda was travelling from Virar and was late. There was another hero in the film who was from a renowned family. That producer punished Govinda by making him stand outside in the rain. That's how the producer expressed his anger. I think that hurt Govinda,' he shared. Govinda himself admitted that he wasn't a punctual person, and said in an interview with Mukesh Khanna on his YouTube channel, 'I never used to arrive on time on set. I was a follower of Dilip Kumar sahab. I didn't believe in being late. I used to first set my rhythms right. Jab tak mere sur taal nahi set ho jaaye, main set pe nahi pahuchta tha (Till the time my rhythms wouldn't be set, I would not go to the set).'
Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Paresh Rawal looks at a picture of himself in Hero No 1, says he had to ‘detox' from ‘dirty' Hindi movies by doing theatre
Actor Paresh Rawal spoke about doing mainstream Bollywood films, often of a poor quality, with serious roles on the stage. A veteran actor on both the screen and in theatre, he said that he would view theatre as a space to 'detox' from all the 'dirt' that would accumulate on him from doing Hindi films. In an interview with The Lallantop, he was shown a picture of himself in David Dhawan's Hero No 1, which prompted him to make this analogy. Asked how he'd go from playing broad roles in films to doing serious roles on the stage, he said, 'Sometimes, I would go do a show after working on one of these movies. I am not a unique person, I can tell you that every theatre actor, when they set foot inside the premises of a theatre, an internal detox begins. All this 'mael (dirt) is rubbed off.' Also read – Ajay Devgn's dad advised Paresh Rawal to 'drink urine' to speed up recovery: 'My x-ray shocked doctor after 15 days, he asked ye kaisa hu' He continued, noting the importance of doing theatre even when he was an in-demand person in cinema, 'Call it my attitude, my selfishness, or even my bossiness, but I don't want to do your rubbish movie. How much money shall I chase? How much money is enough? Three bottles of beer every evening is all I need. I'm telling you the truth, theatre people don't ask for much.' In an earlier interview with Radio Nasha, Paresh said that comic roles were a saviour for him, because he was stuck playing poorly written villains in films. ' Phir chahe woh Rajkumar Santoshi ho ya phir David Dhawan ho, woh log comedy ke scenes mein zyada cut nahi karte hai… single shot hi rakhte hai… jiss wajah se aapko theatre ki feel aati hai (Whether it's Rajkumar Santoshi or David Dhawan, they don't use too many cuts in comic scenes… they prefer single shots… which is why it feels like live theatre),' he said. Expressing his gratitude to Rajkumar Santoshi for hiring him in Andaz Apna Apna, he continued, ' Unn dino mein main toh bohot gatiya kism ke villain roles kar raha tha… so iss kism ka role milna… I'm forever grateful to Rajkumar Santoshi (Back then, I used to do some really terrible villainous roles… so getting a role like this… I'm forever grateful to Rajkumar Santoshi).' The film, starring Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, was re-released in cinemas on April 25.
Indian Express
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Neelam Kothari recalls she had ‘hardcore competition' with Govinda: ‘He spoke to me in Hindi, I spoke English'
Before disappearing from the big screen, Bollywood actor Neelam Kothari starred in various hit films in the 1980s and 1990s. Her association with then-superstar Govinda spanned across 14 films. In a recent interaction, she spoke about working with the Hero No 1 actor and how the two would compete to perfect their dance steps. Speaking to Femme Forward, Neelam said, 'He was a fantastic dancer and we had a lot of hit songs. Sometimes when I go for events and interviews, they play some of my old songs and I am like 'Oh my god… I had so many hit songs with Govinda '. With Govinda, the thing was that I wanted to do my steps much better than him. So it was like hardcore competition. We had great songs and we wanted our dance moves to be perfect. We worked hard on those songs.' Neelam shared that she and Govinda still share the same dynamic, despite not working together for years. 'He used to speak to me in Hindi and I spoke to him in English and it is like that till today. We we met on Indian Idol recently, it was the same dynamic, he spoke in Hindi and I spoke in English, some things don't change.' Govinda and Neelam starred in so many films that rumours of their link up were also talk of the town. However, in an earlier interview Hauterrfly, Neelam rubbished such claims and said, 'I think link ups was part of the whole game. There was no one to clarify. They just printed whatever they felt like and to be honest, I feel like in those days we were scared of the press. Because it was the power of the pen and it was just part of it. If you did more than 2-3 films, it was just understood that… (you two must be dating).' Neelam and Govinda starred in hit films like Love 86 (1986), Ilzaam (1986), Sindoor (1987), Khudgarz (1987), Hatya (1988), Farz Ki Jung (1989), Billoo Badshah (1989), Taaqatwar (1989), and Do Qaidi (1989). Neelam's last film was Kasam in 2001, and she made a comeback with Karan Johar -backed reality show Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives in 2020. The third season of the show released in 2024.
